Pope Francis Says Catholics Shouldn't Breed "Like Rabbits"

The Bible says humans should "be fruitful and multiply," but Pope Francis says there's a limit to how "fruitful" Catholics have to be.

According to the AFP, the pontiff told journalists that followers don't have to have giant broods of children to be good Catholics. "Some think, and excuse the term, that to be good Catholics, they must be like rabbits," he reportedly said, adding that following the Bible doesn't mean "Christians should have children one after the other."

He told a story about a woman he met in Rome who had seven children via C-section, and was now pregnant with her eighth. He called this "an irresponsibility," according to the National Catholic Reporter. "Does she want to leave the seven orphans?"

Francis made the comments on a trip back from the heavily Catholic Philippines, which had recently passed a law to provide free contraception to the poor; the local Catholic church in Manila opposes the law. He strongly supported the church's ban on artificial birth control, but emphasized the importance of natural family planning. The only method the church supports, Reuters notes, is abstinence from sex while a woman is ovulating.